Looking Down on Her?

Guan Chuanjun had seen Xu Lingqu's photo before—the one Moye had uploaded of their Chief Commander. It must have been taken at some ungodly hour; she looked like she'd just been dragged out of bed, staring at the lens with sleepy eyes, like a lazy cat.

But the Xu Lingqu standing before him now, clad in Moye's purple combat training uniform, pale-skinned with black hair and a high-bridged nose, looked like a half-drawn sword when she turned her head to regard someone—danger lurking beneath the surface.

Guan Chuanjun fancied himself a man who'd seen it all. He'd encountered every kind of beauty the Capital Star had to offer—goddesses, fairies, you name it—and grown numb to all of them. Even those flawless, sculpted faces bored him. But the moment he laid eyes on Xu Lingqu, it felt like a blade had sliced across his heart.

What a strange sensation. She was... sharp.

It was the first time Guan Chuanjun had ever wanted to use that word to describe someone's appearance.

He swallowed hard and instinctively took a step toward her.

But Shen Shouli stuck out a foot, catching him off guard. Guan Chuanjun stumbled, nearly face-planting in a graceless tumble. His reflexes saved him in the nick of time, but the whole spectacle made him look like a flapping, clumsy goose—utterly ridiculous.

Xu Xiqin and Jin burst out laughing, pointing at him without a shred of courtesy. Liu Zheng shook her head, muttering, "Would've been better if he'd actually fallen."

Xu Lingqu, who had been watching the whole scene unfold, found Shen Shouli's tripping move oddly familiar.

Having deliberately tripped him, Shen Shouli reached out and pulled Guan Chuanjun back upright, drawing him close. In a voice meant only for the two of them, he warned, "Stay away from her."

Shen Shouli knew exactly what kind of man Guan Chuanjun was. He'd ignored him before because he couldn't be bothered to even cast a glance his way. But if Guan Chuanjun insisted on bringing his playboy routine to Xu Lingqu, Shen Shouli was more than willing to show him the real gap between them.

"You..." Guan Chuanjun was stunned speechless by those words. What had gotten into Shen Shouli today?

Before he could retaliate, Winters, the Shaji instructor in charge, quickly stepped in and yanked their humiliated commander behind him. He shot an awkward smile at Su Li and Long Yuan's instructor, Pu. "Well, we should get to our quarters!"

Trust the young master of the Guan family to throw a fit out of nowhere. He could've picked Dolanston or Long Yuan, but he had to come to Shaji—and he wasn't even from the command department. He'd weaseled his way into the commander's seat with his psychic power and family connections. If he didn't actually have some talent, no one would put up with his nonsense!

The inexplicable little incident finally died down. Xu Lingqu turned and headed out, with Gu Tingzhi falling into step beside her.

"Is your psychic power really only B-rank?"

It was a sudden and rather presumptuous question.

Gu Tingzhi pressed on, "There's no point in circling around trying to probe you, so I thought I'd just ask directly. Don't you think?"

He'd formed a rough picture of Xu Lingqu's character. If, back on the Sky Network, learning that a B-rank had secured the commander position had sparked only surprise and curiosity, meeting her in person had changed his feelings entirely.

Look at how they'd positioned themselves when picking her up—the others had deliberately spread out with Xu Lingqu at the center. That was the simplest marker of leadership in a crowd. And that included Shen Shouli and Liu Zheng, both S+ and S-rank respectively.

They genuinely acknowledged her as their leader. That was what unsettled him.

"Does that question matter?" Xu Lingqu said coolly. "The first match is about to begin anyway. We'll see the truth on the field."

Just as he'd thought—she had confidence and strength, nothing like the wild speculation floating around on the Sky Network.

Gu Tingzhi switched topics. "Jinfang Taibai—you've met him, right?"

Xu Lingqu nodded.

"I bet he's been pestering you nonstop. He's hard to shake." After a few exchanges, Gu Tingzhi figured that if anyone could pry useful information out of Xu Lingqu, it would be Jinfang Taibai—he was way too tenacious.

It had been a nuisance initially, but after Xu Lingqu slammed his face into the ship's door and gifted him a nosebleed, Jinfang Taibai had grown wary of her.

Case in point: they'd just arrived at Yuheng's league base, and Jinfang Taibai was lurking behind a tree not far off, spying sneakily like a thief.

Gu Tingzhi was a bit surprised, wondering why Jinfang Taibai didn't just charge over. It wasn't until Xu Lingqu stepped away that Jinfang Taibai finally approached.

"You cunning brute, you finally showed up," Jinfang Taibai said, staring at Gu Tingzhi's nose. Why hadn't Xu Lingqu given him a taste of the door-to-face treatment? It wasn't fair!

The Long Yuan and Shaji students had all headed toward the dorms, and the two of them were blocking the way. They moved their conversation elsewhere, settling by Du'e's entrance.

"You seem afraid of Xu Lingqu. Why?" Gu Tingzhi was genuinely surprised anyone could rein in Jinfang Taibai.

Back on his own turf, Jinfang Taibai shouted with great bravado, "Who's afraid of her? Who's afraid of her?!"

Then, feeling a bit guilty, he glanced around and added, "Anyway, that woman is terrifying, in every way..."

The two exchanged a look, an unspoken understanding passing between them, even if they'd each arrived at it from different angles.

Kai Ang had no idea that by sending Xu Lingqu to pick up the guests, he'd turned her into a hidden menace in the eyes of several top academies. He sat in his office, watching Su Li grimly bombard the vacationing Feng Hui with relentless calls.

Tomorrow would bring Dolanston, and those people were a hassle. Su Li wasn't about to take that abuse sitting down—she planned to make Feng Hui bring his precious son, Feng Bu, along.

"Didn't our Principal Feng... get honorably wounded?" Kai Ang scratched his head.

Instructor Chen shot him a glare. "I poured tea, not some bioweapon."

Feng Hui had been too ashamed to show his face, and Chen had given him an out. By all rights, Feng Hui should be thanking him.

Kai Ang recalled the bitterness that hit him right between the eyes and murmured, "It's pretty much the same thing..."

Feng Hui, of course, knew that the job of receiving Dolanston was no picnic. He'd planned to play dead until it was over, but Feng Bu volunteered to go.

"Father, Dolanston is the Empire's strongest military academy now. Getting familiar with them can only help us, and I want to meet the Sky Network heiress too." Feng Bu had studied plenty of materials on Jia Xiangying and was eager to make a good impression.

Feng Hui knew his son was chasing another unrealistic dream, but Feng Bu was completely deaf to advice at this point. So he had no choice but to tag along.

The next day, at Yuheng Star's rail stop, Jia Xiangying completely ignored the hand Feng Bu extended. Feng Hui let out a helpless sigh inwardly.

Jia Xiangying swept her gaze over Moye's contingent, her expression dark. Shen Shouli wasn't there, Liu Zheng wasn't there, and even that B-rank Xu Lingqu hadn't shown. They'd sent a bug instead.

Wasn't this a complete insult to her?